Beetle battle claims more West Boylston trees

Thursday

Sep 19, 2013 at 6:00 AM

By Michael Kane, BANNER EDITOR

WEST BOYLSTON — If you live around the Lee Street well, you might notice a thinning of trees from your backyard. But, outside of that, the removal of trees over a 16-acre area, due to an Asian longhorned beetle infestation, was expected to be complete by the time The Banner went to press.

Water District Superintendent Michael Coveney said the removal would go unnoticed by a passerby.

"They tell me it's not going to be noticeable (from the ground)," Coveney said. "There will probably be some abutters along Prospect and Lee streets who will see a difference from their back yards."

Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) forester Ford Wykoff, who monitored the work for the state, said the trees were discovered during the spring, by ground spotters. The trees, which showed 10 or more exit holes, were considered heavily infested.

The work started on Aug. 10, and was expected to be finished last week.

Also involved in the process was the West Boylston Conservation Commission, not due to the proximity to drinking water, but due to the appearance of what could be a vernal pool in the work area.

Commission Vice Chairman David Eckhardt said the wet area shows characteristics of being a vernal pool, which means the water does not percolate into the ground.

"It shows the characteristics of a vernal pool, but it is not registered as one," Eckhardt said. "The only way to do that is through observation."

Eckhardt said the area was found during the initial survey work and reported to the Conservation Commission in July.

"It requires Conservation Commission notification, and this was done in timely fashion," he said. "Typically, somebody then comes out to take a look."

Eckhardt described the removal of trees around the well head as the lesser of two evils.

"There's a trade off here," he said. "In conservation, we value all the water, but we all want the Asian longhorned beetle out of Worcester County."

Eckhardt said he was confident the work would have little to no impact on the town's water supply, and minimal impact on the land's forest cover.

Eckhardt said special regulations created by the state in 2008 describe how beetle eradication efforts must be done around water supplies.

"These prescriptions are being followed here," he said.

Wykoff said many of the trees in the area were pine and other species not favored by the beetle, he noted, leaving more than half of the land with a natural canopy.

Because of the heavy natural forest left intact, trees replanting along the Water District property is not needed. Instead, the forest will regenerate naturally, Wykoff said. Abutting landowners who lost trees from their yards were to be contacted about replanting, he said.

Coveney said the well is 56-feet below ground, and should not be affected by the tree removal. Regardless, water quality is tested monthly, he noted.

Eckhardt said the tree removal company, Mayer Tree, must restore the Water District land to a condition close to what it was before the tree removals.

"The DCR will go through (after the work is completed) to make sure it is left as it was," Eckhardt said. "Mike and I will be here ... to make sure the DCR follows through."